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Late yesterday afternoon the MPV Everest departed from the icy location where we had been conducting fly off operations, and commenced its passage northwards towards Hobart. There was a gentle roll as we made our way carefully through the ice pack. This morning at around 03:00 local time we left the outer ice edge and made our way northwards into the Southern Ocean. This morning we were greeted by an increased roll of the ship, reminding those who had not secured objects in their cabin, to do so as stuff started to move around. It is not only the roll of the ship that has increased since we have left the ice pack. The temperature outside is now around -1 oC, a stark difference to the -12 oC we experienced yesterday and Mawson and Davis winterers can experience rain again for the first time in a year. It is relatively quiet around the decks of the ship as people adjust to the movement of the ship and rest up after the resupply efforts.
A huge thanks to all of the expeditioners on board and ashore for their efforts over the 17 days of fly off operations from the ice off Mawson. It has been a large and complex task to identify, access and pack into helicopters, the loads of food, medical supplies, mechanical and infrastructure equipment and materials. A total of around 22.6MT, needed to keep the expeditioners and station alive and well for the winter were flown ashore. A special thanks to the Bureau Of Meteorology team who took observations and wrote forecasts each day and hourly whilst we were flying, the helicopter pilots who flew the 34 sorties over 160 hours of air time, the engineers who kept the machines running, the Deputy Voyage Leader who coordinated the cargo operations, the Voyage Resupply Coordinator and her team of assistants who packed and sorted all of the helicopter loads, the Voyage Management Assistant for writing the SITREP's, crunching data, checking manifests, and running around the ship 100 times a day, the expeditioners and crew who stood up for every flight in full BA firefighting gear, the Watercraft Operators in dry suits on standby for a water rescue, the FTO's on standby up in the helicopter lounge for SAR, the ships deck crew and Helicopter Landing Officer, the captain and officers who moved the ship as close as they could through the ice each day and back out each evening, the stewards and galley staff who keep the ship running and the troops fed and finally (the hardest job of all) everyone else for their patience and tolerance over 17 days stuck in a 25x25 meter steel can!
Regards Andy, Jenn and Lauren
Map
A map showing Australia and Antarctica. The map shows the journey of one voyage that has occured in the season, with each route highlighted in a distinct colour.